Stop the subsidies to land ownership!

You're invited to a "Let's make a candidate supper party" on Thursday, August 18. Supper included.

As you well know, there's a mayoral election in San Francisco this fall. All the candidates (there may be one libertarian exception) want to keep the abundant social services in place. They all want to ensure well funded public education. They all want to help out small business. Most want to help out the below median income housing populace. And a few recognize that the city's pension obligations are going to gobble up anywhere from 1/8th to 1/6th of city revenue over the next six years (depending upon whether the city can sustain its huge tax bite, the city will have a budget of between 4 and 6 billion $, and the pension obligation is going to average about $700M/year). But the candidates' solutions include taxing business more, a city income tax!, raising parking fines, whistling in the dark.

And meanwhile, land ownership continues on its heavily subsidized way. At most, only a sixth of the value added by public infrastructure (such as paved streets, MUNI, public education (k-university), museums, fire protection, etc.) to land values is retrieved via the land portion of the property tax.

So, a cadre of commoneers have concocted a cyber-candidate for SF mayor who champions retrieving more of land values for the community, and REDUCING other taxes. Real platform. Real public discussion. Fictional candidate. Join us this Thursday, August 18, 7-9 pm as Leon Phat, fictional candidate for SF mayor comes to life even more beneath your fingertips.

Thursday, August 18, 7-9 pm. 189 Ellsworth St in Bernal Heights. Supper provided.

There's already a website: http://www.LeonPhat.com There are banners. There have been Leon Phat supporters at mayoral debates, at Sunday Streets, at house parties (for other candidates) posing hard questions about the subsidy of land owners. Now's your opportunity to tune into the Leon Phat educational campaign.

How does a Leon Phat campaign drive the other candidates in to frank discussion of the effects of different types of revenue-getting (taxes)? How do we keep (fund) the best of San Francisco, and simultaneously address housing, wage, and environment questions?

It's fun. It's definitely community engagement. It's educational for the citizenry. And it could make a difference.

Aman U. Neese
http://www.LeonPhat.com